Top 10 Best James Taylor Songs Of All Time

We list some of the best James Taylor songs of all time. Taylor is heralded as the harbinger of the singer-songwriter era during the 1970s. Years later, his warm baritone, introspective lyrics and unique style of guitar playing still blaze a path to which young musicians aspire.

Bio: Who is James Taylor?

James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Taylor’s career began in the mid-1960s, but he found his audience in the early 1970s, singing sensitive and gentle songs including “Fire and Rain,” “Carolina in the Morning,” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” Taylor’s eased the transition from 60s activism and its attendant frustrations into the less political, more inward-looking 70s. His work was informed by his battles with heroin and depression-driven stays in psychiatric hospitals. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Top 10 Best James Taylor Songs

1. Fire and Rain

“Fire and Rain” is a folk rock song written and performed by James Taylor. Appearing on his second album, Sweet Baby James. In an interview in 2007 with Snopes.com, Taylor spoke to David Mikkelson about “Fire and Rain” and the true meaning and story behind the track: “Fire and Rain” has three verses. The first verse is about my reactions to the death of a friend. The second verse is about my arrival in this country with a monkey on my back, and [Won’t you look down upon me,] Jesus is an expression of my desperation in trying to get through the time when my body was aching and the time was at hand when I had to do it. The third verse of that song refers to my recuperation [beating the heroin addiction] in Austen Riggs which lasted about five months.”

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2. You’ve Got a Friend

“You’ve Got a Friend” was originally written by Carole King and featured on her album Tapestry. Both Carole and James’ versions of the song were recorded in 1971. At the time, Carole’s album was recorded in an overlap with James’ album. In an interview in 1972, Carole said that she “didn’t write it with James or anybody, really specifically in mind. But when James heard it, he really liked it and wanted to record it.” “You’ve Got a Friend” won Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year).

Stream “You’ve Got a Friend”

3. Carolina in My Mind

“Carolina in My Mind” is a song written and performed by James Taylor, which first appeared on his 1968 self-titled debut album. James Taylor conjured up the ultimate ode to his home state of North Carolina while off the coast of Spain and then recorded it in London. In the song, James sings about longing to return to North Carolina, the place he and his siblings called home in their childhood days. He says it’s about “that feeling of being called away to another place.” “Carolina in My Mind” has become one of Taylor’s most critically praised songs and one that has great popularity and significance for his audience.

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4. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

“How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” is a song originally recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye from his fifth studio album of the same name (1965). James Taylor released his version of as the lead single from his album Gorilla (1975). Taylor’s 1975 single has been the most successful remake of the song to date, hitting number one on the Easy Listening chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Rolling Stone critic Bud Scoppa described Taylor’s version as “a relaxed rendition” and considered it to be Taylor’s way of acknowledging Gaye as a source of inspiration for Taylor’s romantic point of view at the time.

Stream “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”

5. Mexico

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkMUivoClws

“Mexico” was the ‘A’ side of James Taylor’s second single release for his album ‘Gorilla’. Released in 1975, the song is classified as both soft and folk rock and features backing vocals from Graham Nash and David Crosby. The lyrics of “Mexico” describe a dream of enjoying a night in a Mexican border town. It seems to describe the singer’s first-hand experiences in Mexico but has a twist near the end where the singer acknowledges that he has never been to Mexico, turning the song into a “fantasy about escaping to an exotic land.” “Mexico” peaked at only No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 but achieved substantial radio play and reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

Stream “Mexico”

6. Your Smiling Face

“Your Smiling Face” is a hit single by singer James Taylor. This joyful song is one of Taylor’s classics. It finds him lighting up at the sight of a loved one. At the time, he was married to Carly Simon, the obvious inspiration. Long after their 1983 divorce he told Charlie Rose: “It’s a celebration. A happy love song with a lot of energy to it.” “Your Smiling Face” peaked at number 11 in Cash Box magazine and at 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 near year’s end. It is one of his best-known and most popular tunes and Taylor considers it his best song.

Stream “Your Smiling Face”

7. Sweet Baby James

“Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor appears on his 1970 album of the same name. Based on the title of the song, some might assume that Taylor was making a conscious effort to self-mythologize, but he actually wrote this prairie lullaby on a road trip from New Jersey to North Carolina in honor of his brother’s new baby, also named James, whom he was about to meet for the first time. “I was very excited that they had a kid, and very moved that they named it after me, and I was behind the wheel for 20 hours or so, straight, maybe 15 hours, driving straight down.” It is one of his best-known and most popular tunes and Taylor considers it his best song.

Stream “Sweet Baby James”

8. Something in the Way She Moves

“Something in the Way She Moves” is a song written by James Taylor that appeared on his 1968 debut album for Apple Records, James Taylor. Taylor told Rolling Stone that this song is about “an early girlfriend and the calm you feel in the presence of someone who knows you really well.” This rules out Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, each of whom he later dated (he was married to Simon from 1972-1983). According to James Taylor’s stage banter at The Star in Frisco 31 July 2017, this was the song he played for Paul McCartney and George Harrison as an audition before signing with Apple Records.

Stream “Something in the Way She Moves”

9. Handy Man

This is a cover of the 1959 song “Handy Man”, penned by singer Jimmy Jones and songwriter Otis Blackwell, “Handy Man” was initially recorded by Jimmy Jones in 1959, and by Del Shannon in 1964. In 1977, it was then performed by James Taylor making it a three-minute piece. Taylor’s version peaked at No. 1 in September 1977 on the RPM Top Singles chart.

Stream “Handy Man”

10. Copperline

“Copperline” by James Taylor appears on his album, New Moon Shine (1991). Copperline is an area near Chapel Hill in North Carolina where James Taylor grew up, and the song is a nostalgic look back at his childhood, complete with a mention of his dog, Hercules. Taylor visited Copperline before he wrote the song, and discovered that pre-fabricated homes had popped up in the area, destroying its charm. He sings about this in the lyrics, “I tried to go back, as if I could, all spec houses and plywood, tore up and tore up good.” The album peaked at number 37 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum.

Stream “Copperline”

Honorable mentions

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